Tuesday, November 03, 2015
Good Will Toward Incarcerated Fathers
At Goodwill, we believe that the power of work and achieving gainful employment is an important factor in creating strong and resilient families. When parents work, not only are they able to meet the financial needs of their family, but they’re also teaching the value of hard work, dedication and responsibility to their children.
While the core of our services centers on employment skills training, we know employment is just one important piece that contributes to a family’s success. Our agency is dedicated to seeing families grow and become the best versions of themselves. Our social services and parenting programming speak to our devotion to strengthening families. At Goodwill, parents can learn vital parenting skills through our Home-Based Parenting, Parenting Skills Training Program, and Parents Anonymous Support Group. We believe if parents are the best versions of themselves, their children will grow up happy, confident and successful.
A positive presence of both parents in a child’s life is paramount to a strong and resilient family. At Goodwill, we understand the importance of focusing on the entire family and that it takes the focus of multiple agencies. Our focus tends to be supporting the parent who remains with the child and is faced with a new set of challenges. We also provide support to families being reunited. Angela Patton’s father–daughter dance program promotes relationship building, open dialogue and hope for a brighter future between fathers and their daughters, even in the most unlikely circumstances. Patton’s program centers on overcoming the barrier of prison to work on the important father-daughter bond and building positive memories. We have seen the importance of these memories when families reunite.
At Goodwill, we regularly partner with previously incarcerated fathers to overcome barriers to employment and secure a job. It has been our experience that most fathers are motivated to move past incarceration and focus on the future through the betterment of themselves and their families.
Incarcerated fathers have a distinctive effect on the family unit and it’s important that we pause to explore how prison distresses a father’s presence and role in the family, and also how it affects the children. Goodwill is looking forward to Angela Patton’s program at The City Club, and we encourage all to attend. The program is entitled “Family Resilience and a Father-Daughter Dance… in Prison,” and is scheduled for November 16 at 12 p.m. To learn more about Angela Patton and to register for the event please click here.
Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio, Inc. is a sponsor of the Resilient Families series.